At 68 a Cook Too Broke to Eat, I Moved to the Philippines

👉 https://ruthinthephilippines.com 📖 MY BOOK — "Still Somebody" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Seven true stories of women written off at home — who started over in the Philippines. Plus the honest $1,150-a-month budget behind it. $27 · instant PDF. At sixty-eight, my Social Security check comes to sixteen hundred dollars a month — the exact same number that once had me eating instant noodles out of a foam cup back in Tulsa, and now buys me a life I couldn't have dreamed of. 00:00 — Instant Noodles, Same Paycheck 02:16 — The Tuna Capital Nobody's Heard Of 03:06 — The Wet Heat That Grabs You by the Throat 04:19 — A Photo of a Stove at 2 A.M. 06:31 — One Word, Then the Brownout Hits 08:24 — The Port That Never Sleeps 12:02 — Fooling No One at the Fish Stall 16:27 — Jomar, Bening, and the Net-Mender 21:40 — The Real Numbers, Item by Item 26:04 — A King Eats Alone? 28:29 — The Call From Derek 32:19 — Sick, Alone, and Then the Knock at the Door 36:45 — Thirty Chairs, All Taken 39:18 — The Name a Child Gave Me My name's Curtis. Forty years I ran the griddle at a diner in Tulsa, Oklahoma — short-order cook, up before the sun, fast on my feet, the fella who fed a whole town its breakfast. Then the arthritis chased me off my feet, and the government handed me sixteen hundred a month for a lifetime of it. A cook who couldn't afford to eat right. That was the part that stung. There was a month I put a can of coffee back on the shelf because I couldn't do the coffee and the eggs both, standing there doing that math with people behind me in line. So I did a thing nobody who knew me would've bet a nickel on. I sold my truck, my knives, everything that was left, and bought a one-way ticket to a city I'd never once heard a soul say out loud. General Santos. Down on the southern tip of the Philippines, a bay called Sarangani, a place they call the tuna capital of the country. I didn't know the half of what that would mean yet. This is where my story really begins. Footage Attribution: Portions of the video footage used in this production are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. The original footage has been edited, color graded, trimmed, or combined with additional footage, and paired with original narration and storytelling to create a new transformative work. Credit for all original creators is provided below in accordance with the CC BY license. Video Credit: "Walking the 2nd Most Densely Populated District in Manila Philippines [4K HDR]" by Krypto Trekker Source:    • Walking the 2nd Most Densely Populated Dis...   Video Credit: "Exploring Masville Parañaque Metro Manila Philippines [4K HDR]" by Krypto Trekker Source:    • Exploring Masville Parañaque Metro Manila ...   Video Credit: "Watch This Before Visiting Manila Philippines [4K WALK]" by Krypto Trekker Source:    • Watch This Before Visiting Manila Philippi...   Video Credit: "SUPER HEAVY RAIN HITS MANILA CITY-Afternoon walk in tondo Manila [4k]" by JOHN WALK TOUR Source:    • SUPER HEAVY RAIN HITS MANILA CITY-Afternoo...   Channels: Krypto Trekker —    / @kryptotrekker   | JOHN WALK TOUR —    / @jwtrealninja   Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). — #RetireInThePhilippines #RetireAbroad #RetirementPlanning #CostOfLivingPhilippines #ExpatLife #RetireOverseas #GeneralSantos #RetiredCook #RetireOnSocialSecurity #StillSomebody retire in the philippines, retire abroad, retire overseas, retirement, retirement planning, cost of living in the philippines, retire on social security, retire on a budget, american retiree philippines, moving to the philippines, living in the philippines, general santos, general santos philippines, gensan, sarangani bay, tuna capital of the philippines, mindanao, fish port philippines, retired chef, retired cook, short order cook, fixed income, pension, retire at 68, starting over at 68, second chance, another life abroad, philippines cost of living 2026, retire in asia, southeast asia retirement, filipino hospitality, filipino kindness, healthcare in the philippines, retire cheap, best places to retire abroad, senior expat, expat life, retire with dignity, how to retire abroad, instant noodles retirement

I Retired in the Philippines With $900 a Month. I Found Love, Community, and Peace
▶︎

I Retired in the Philippines With $900 a Month. I Found Love, Community, and Peace

HOW A FILIPINO OFW SAVED ME AN 68-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN GRANDMA FROM DEPORTATION!
▶︎

HOW A FILIPINO OFW SAVED ME AN 68-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN GRANDMA FROM DEPORTATION!

I Couldn't Afford U.S. Healthcare… So I Retired to the Philippines
▶︎

I Couldn't Afford U.S. Healthcare… So I Retired to the Philippines

My Filipina Wife Kicked Me Out Thinking I Was Poor — She Froze When She Saw What I Own 🇵🇭
▶︎

My Filipina Wife Kicked Me Out Thinking I Was Poor — She Froze When She Saw What I Own 🇵🇭

LET'S BE FRANK HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO BE RICH IN THE PHILIPPINES?
▶︎

LET'S BE FRANK HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED TO BE RICH IN THE PHILIPPINES?

AMERICANS Found the PERFECT Food Combo!
▶︎

AMERICANS Found the PERFECT Food Combo!

How Thailand's Brutal System Traps Western Expats — Say Goodbye to Paradise 🇹🇭
▶︎

How Thailand's Brutal System Traps Western Expats — Say Goodbye to Paradise 🇹🇭

Do NOT Move To the Philippines in 2026. Here Are The Shocking Reasons Why!
▶︎

Do NOT Move To the Philippines in 2026. Here Are The Shocking Reasons Why!

I Was 70, Widowed, and Starting Over — Then I Moved to Manila
▶︎

I Was 70, Widowed, and Starting Over — Then I Moved to Manila

Social Security Reality Check: Living in the Philippines on a Budget
▶︎

Social Security Reality Check: Living in the Philippines on a Budget

15 BRUTAL Reasons Why You Need to Leave Vietnam RIGHT NOW!
▶︎

15 BRUTAL Reasons Why You Need to Leave Vietnam RIGHT NOW!

Don't Move To The Philippines Until You Watch This
▶︎

Don't Move To The Philippines Until You Watch This

I'm 76. My Kids Stopped Calling. The Philippines Remembered Who I Was.
▶︎

I'm 76. My Kids Stopped Calling. The Philippines Remembered Who I Was.

THAILAND 🇹🇭 2026: 30K TOURISTS DENIED ENTRY & 170K FOREIGNERS BLACKLISTED
▶︎

THAILAND 🇹🇭 2026: 30K TOURISTS DENIED ENTRY & 170K FOREIGNERS BLACKLISTED

I Was 70, Divorced After 41 Years — Then I Moved to Cebu, Philippines
▶︎

I Was 70, Divorced After 41 Years — Then I Moved to Cebu, Philippines

I'm 73. I Tried Everywhere to Feel Alive Again. Only One Country That Did It
▶︎

I'm 73. I Tried Everywhere to Feel Alive Again. Only One Country That Did It

The Truth About Retiring in the Philippines No One Told Me
▶︎

The Truth About Retiring in the Philippines No One Told Me

Everyone Said She Married Me for a Green Card. She Refuses to Leave the Philippines.
▶︎

Everyone Said She Married Me for a Green Card. She Refuses to Leave the Philippines.

At 73 My Kids Put Me in a Home. I Fled to the Philippines
▶︎

At 73 My Kids Put Me in a Home. I Fled to the Philippines

67-YEAR-OLD GERMAN GRANDMA LEFT HER RICH LIFE IN GERMANY AND FOUND TRUE HAPPINESS IN THE PHILIPPINES
▶︎

67-YEAR-OLD GERMAN GRANDMA LEFT HER RICH LIFE IN GERMANY AND FOUND TRUE HAPPINESS IN THE PHILIPPINES